1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bow stabilizer that is mounted to an archery bow. The bow stabilizer is attached to the archery bow for the purpose of balancing the archery bow and reducing recoil, shock, vibration and noise that results when an arrow is discharged from the archery bow
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, various stabilizers and vibration dampeners have been developed to both balance and absorb the shock when an arrow is discharged from an archery bow. U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,608 teaches an archery bow stabilizer and vibration dampener that are mounted on an archery bow. As taught by the '608 patent, a hollow cylinder is filled with a viscous fluid, such as oil, to attenuate vibration when an arrow is discharged from the archery bow. An energy dissipating rod, located inside the hollow cylinder, is connected to a stud which screws into a riser of the archery bow. The energy dissipating rod is in direct contact with the viscous fluid. The stabilizer rod transfers energy to the viscous fluid when an arrow is discharged from the archery bow. One end of the hollow cylinder is permanently sealed to prevent the escape of the viscous fluid. The other end of the cylinder has a plug and rubber sealing ring which prevents the viscous fluid from escaping from the cylinder. A variety of external weights having different masses are threaded onto an end of the stabilizer to provide additional balancing for the archery bow. As taught by the '608 patent, the stabilizer is approximately 18 inches in length. However, field experimentation is necessary to adequately balance the archery bow. In order to balance the bow using this stabilizer, differently sized weights are attached to the end of the stabilizer until the archery bow is balanced. Thus, the hunter is required to have at his disposal a variety of additional weights to fine tune and properly adjust or balance the archery bow. One disadvantage is that the length required to absorb the energy and vibrations is too long to effectively permit hunting of game animals. Additionally, placing weights at the end of the stabilizer to balance the bow makes the stabilizer even longer and has an unattractive appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,602 teaches a rod or central cylindrical core that is threaded onto the forward side of an archery bow. The '602 patent teaches a sleeve that is slidable on the core and biased on the rear of the core by a stiff spring. When the bow string is released and an arrow is discharged, the sleeve slides forward by momentum to absorb the shock produced The sleeve, upon firing, moves forward and is then snapped back by a spring force which acts as a resilient shock absorber. The '602 patent further teaches that a receptacle, located at the end of the core, is loaded with lead pellets or shot to balance the bow in the hand of the archer. Similar to the '608 patent the '602 patent has a disadvantage because it requires the hunter to carry additional weights, lead pellets or shot, to properly adjust the archery bow. Another disadvantage is that the length of the stabilizer is increased by locating the additional balancing weight at the end of the stabilizer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,327 teaches a two stage resiliently mounted stabilizer having a first and a second housing that are attached to an archery bow. The first housing is resiliently mounted to the archery bow. The second housing is resiliently mounted to an end of the first housing. The first housing has a first rubber tube which is inside the first housing. A flat resilient washer separates the two housings and a connecting member is used to connect and tighten the second and third rubber members. This allows the second housing to move with respect to the first housing. Additional weights may be connected to the end of the second housing. One disadvantage is that the characteristics and properties of rubber do not adequately solve the archer's needs in dampening vibrations and reducing noise when an arrow is discharged from the archery bow. Another disadvantage is that the stabilizer is generally too long to be used for hunting game animals. Another disadvantage is that weight added at the end of the stabilizer increases the length and adds too much weight to the archery bow, causing fatigue to the archer. Yet another disadvantage is that the stabilizer performance will change with a change in temperature as the fluid viscosity changes. Under hunting conditions, such change in stabilizer performance results in a decrease of bow accuracy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,538 teaches another stabilizer mounted to an archery bow. A spring is compressed by rotating a nut located at the end of the stabilizer. A weight may be added to the opposite end. The spring design of the '538 patent has a disadvantage because it provides insufficient stabilization. The length of the stabilizer is generally too long and hence impractical for use in hunting.